Comparació experiment-teoria Conclusions

Highly skilled individuals are important for the construction process. The construction industry requires individuals with basic knowledge and skills. To achieve this goal, employers within the Asset Skills Sectors must ensure that their employees have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience required to undertake their duties competently. This can be ensured by embracing the concept of training needs assessment. This allows employers to review where employee training may be lacking and thus informs them on any gaps that need to be rectified. Empirical research study conducted by the Information Technology Governance Institute (ITGI) that there were 700 chief executives and chief information officers at companies in 23 countries, including the UK participated in the survey focusing on information technology employees, it was found that 38% reported problems

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relating to inadequate skills in the construction workforce (Hasan, 2008, Ashford, 2008). In the modern business workplace, efficiency has become a priority for employers worldwide. Saving money and boosting efficiency at the same time has become a must, particularly since the arrival of the recent global recession. Completing a training needs assessment allows organizations to stay on top of employee development, channel their resources effectively and prepare for future needs. The quality of the labourer’s education and training is the secret factor of the success of the construction industry in each country, and the demand for a skilled workforce will only increase in the future (Mulya et al., 2004). Several studies (e.g. Odusami, 2002; Odusami et al., 2007; Charlesraj et al., 2004; Gushgari et al., 1997; Mulya et al., 2004; Farrell & Gale, 2003) have demonstrated that the fundamental skills to improve the performance of the construction industry are urgently needed. These skills may relate to organizational, managerial and technical roles. While it is accepted that certain technical and practical skills are necessary within the industry, the range and scope of skills needed can vary widely between firms. Skills in the construction industry are defined by Odusami (2002, p 61) as: ‘the ability to perform the task well or better than average. Skills can also be described as the ability to translate knowledge into action’. However, some literature reviews reveal that the meaning of the word ‘skill’ would differ with the context in which it is used, for example: Shah and Burke (2003) define ‘skill’ as ‘applied competence’. Applied competence is the overarching term for three kinds of competence:

 Practical competence: our demonstrated ability to perform a set of tasks.

 Foundational competence: our demonstrated understanding of what we or others are doing and why.

 Reflexive competence: our demonstrated ability to integrate or connect our performance with our understanding of that performance so that we learn from our actions and are able to adapt to changes and unforeseen circumstances.

As a skill is related to a particular task, an employee who does not possess such a skill is unlikely to perform the task as effectively as an employee who possesses the skill. The key to identifying a skills-gap in a given occupation is that the gap can be addressed through a proper training programme (Toni, 2009). However, a research study by (Hassan, 2004) claims that training is not always a solution to address a skills problem or performance gap; that this problem would be solved by the right recruitment and selection programmes and that through work experience employees can develop their abilities. On the other hand, Toni

(2009) suggests that skills are normally associated with a qualification and its achievement through formal education and training. In the construction industry, the engineering workforce at all levels requires different technical and managerial skills, and training is the only tool that can be applied to develop individual technical and managerial skills. This call for specific training in the relevant management and technical areas is support by Teixeira (2005) who claims in his research study that the need for training in these areas has been felt in several countries in Europe, especially in the UK, who have greatly expanded training to address the skills problem.

Katz (1974) proposed three types of skill as an approach to categorising them in construction. These are technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Technical skills relate to objects, human skills relate to people and conceptual skills are associated with ideas. These three concepts have implications for the implementation of skills development. Katz said that the workforce requires the same level of competence in all skills. Skills needed to drive the development, or use of technology, are reported primarily at higher occupational levels, such as in managerial, professional, associate professional and technical occupations (Devi & Mallika Rao, 2012; Rizwan, 2008). Apparently, nowadays there are also certain skills in the construction industry that are more important than others. If the skills are less important and the employees do not have those skills then the training needs gap will be less. It appears that the number of skilled construction workers qualifying in Iraq over the forecast period will be less than the number required to achieve the level of projected output over the period of reconstructing the country. This shortage consists of all kind of engineers such as project managers, site managers, professionals and skilled workers. Among the recommendations put forward to deal with issues affecting the construction industry are:

 Increasing the level of training programmes in project management and supervisory skills.

 Examining the changing roles of managers in the industry and the implications for education and training provision (UN-Habitat, 2006).

A good TNA will also look to the long term as well as identifying the skills that will be needed in the short term. By providing training in these skills in good time, the organization is able to anticipate needs and have the necessary skills in place by the time they are required (Hassan, 2008). It seems that in Iraq construction labours at the level of skilled labours, in desperate need of the kinds of essential skills. For example: most Iraqi engineers possess very 3 2

poor project management skills; this could be due the predominating engineering culture that only focuses on technical skills rather than managerial skills. Though the availability of construction engineers with managerial skills in the Iraqi construction industry, in terms of numbers is not much at a broad level, it is the quality of the workforce both in terms of knowledge and skills which is not appropriately matched to the requirements of the construction industry in Iraq. This is why one of the main areas at the industry level, where considerable gaps exist nowadays, is the availability of skilled engineers (UN-Habitat, 2006). This also leads to lower productivity of the construction sector in Iraq as compared to other nation’s productivity in this industry. A major criticism (Jahanger, 2013) facing the Iraqi construction industry is the growing rate of delays in project delivery, which could be attributed to the lack of skilled employees. Therefore, it is assumed that in Iraq there is an increased need for a wider variety of skills in the construction industry, including the ability to address not only technical, but also managerial issues; this is due to shifts in technology, new materials and radical changes in production that require different skills from employees. However, the skills required could be different from industry to industry or due to cultural factors, or the nature of the business environment in which they are needed. In Iraq, indeed in most of the developing world, one of the key constraints to achieving the best possible construction performance has been a lack of skills management. In a dynamic environment such as Iraq, construction managers in particular need to combine leadership, entrepreneurial and administrative skills with technical know-how to meet the challenges that the changing socio-political, economic and technological landscape presents (UN-Habitat, 2006).. Without a good combination of management skills and technical skills, it would be impossible to improve efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness in the delivery of construction projects. Following are the main skills that have been identified to be prerequisites for the success of any company, and could be regarded as essential for Iraqi construction engineers.

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Technical skills

Technical skills refer to the ability of an individual to use the knowledge or techniques of a specific discipline to achieve ultimate goals. A good example of such skills is knowledge of the accounting, engineering or logistics and planning used to perform a task (Brink, 2007). According to another definition by Karz (1983), technical skills are defined as an understanding of, and proficiency in, a specific kind of activity, particularly one involving methods, processes, procedures, or techniques. It involves specialized knowledge, analytical

ability within a specialty, and facility in the use of tools and techniques of a specific discipline. Technical skills deal with ‘things’, and involve processes (or techniques), knowledge and proficiency (Enshassi et al, 2009). Technical skills are learned in the specific disciplines of the various engineering specialties such as: design skills, programming skills, production skills (Alexis, 2007; Razalli, 2007). Shehu and Akintoye, (2008) suggest that the technical skills required to use specialised tools, methods, processes, procedures, techniques, or knowledge involve specialized knowledge, or analytical ability within a specialty (Shehu & Akintoye, 2008; Razalli, 2007 ). Cross (2000) argued that as individuals move away from their technical specialization into managerial positions, they also move away from the use of specialized tools and towards the use of specialized knowledge bases and cognitive processes. According to Razalli (2007), in order for a project to be successful, employees should have relevant experience or knowledge of the technology and analytical techniques, or in the use of the tools and techniques of the specific discipline, e.g. construction engineering systems. In general, being an engineer working in the construction industry requires a sound knowledge of technical skills, for example: the ability to understand basic production processes on the construction site. However, as a construction engineer is promoted up the management ladder, fewer technical skills are required as they become more involved in managerial tasks.

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Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills involve the formulation of ideas and concepts. They are referred to as the mental abilities that allow employees to understand the communications between different work units within an organization, for example: the effect of any changes in any part of the organizational system, and how the organization fits into the supra-system (Shehu & Akintoye, 2008). According to Razalli (2007), “a conceptual skill is the ability to see the enterprise as a whole and recognize how the various functions of the organization depend on one another and how changes in any one part affect the other”. Razalli (2007) argues for the importance of conceptual skills at different levels of project development, especially at the planning and implementation stage of a project. According to him, such skills will help the project manager to understand the numerous activities involved in project tasks - the sequencing and timing of activities and the resources and facilities required in performing and completing activities. What is more, these skills can also help employees to see how, for

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example, changes in the design or scope of the project will affect the budget, schedule and overall performance (Razalli, 2007; Ling Jenung, 2003).



Enterprise Skills

Enterprising or entrepreneurial skills relate to the ability to be innovative, creative and solve problems. Williams (1999) draws a distinction between creativity as, ‘findings, thinking up and making new things’ (knowledge for its own sake) and innovation as, ‘doing and using new things’ (creation of new wealth) seeing entrepreneurs as, ‘catalysts for change by converting opportunities into marketable realities’ (Mauzy et.al., 2003). Hasan (2008) reported that “innovation is the act of creating something new and worthwhile; entrepreneurship is the act of carrying an innovation to market in a commercial manner”. It is often about taking an idea that is obvious in one context and applying it in a not so obvious way in a different context.



Business skills

Razalli (2007) argues that practical business skills are necessary for an organization to achieve a corporation’s objectives and targets through competitive advantage, and to engage in the creation of processes and systems to benchmark, learn and ensure continuously improved performance and betterment. Business skills include the planning, monitoring and controlling of the financial wellbeing of an organization with the view to maximizing profit (Razalli, 2007; Ling Jenung, 2003; Baroque et al., 2010). The following aspects are categorized as business skills:

 Budgeting

 Cost justification

 Knowledge of building codes and regulations

 Customer/client satisfaction

 Planning - setting strategies, tactics and objectives

 Knowledge of health and safety regulations

 Marketing to clients - developing client relations

 Construction trade knowledge

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Project Management Skills

According to Razalli (2007) project management skills refer to the multi-faceted responsibilities necessary to plan, monitor and control all aspects of a project from conception to successful handover, in line with the client’s requirements, one’s own organizational objectives and the implementation of best practice. Construction organizations sometimes fail to recognise the value of project management skills for employees. A major reason for this is that, too often, training is viewed tactically rather than strategically. It is not connected to overall organizational goals and strategy (Daniels, 2006). The following are important elements involved in project management:

 Cost estimation (conceptual)

 Project planning and scheduling

 Critical path management

 Project progress assessment

 Detail estimation

 Resource acquisition

 Schedule development - adjusting to maintenance schedule changes

 Project organization

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Interpersonal Skills

Hasan (2008) defined interpersonal skills asreferring to the ability to work with people, solve conflicts, understand people, and deal with people-related issues (Brink, 2007). Employees who work for organizations must have the ability to perform in a competent manner interpersonally, and they also need to learn the techniques of good listening, honest and open communication, delegation and conflict resolution to get the work done and keep the whole 3 6

movement/organization/project functioning well (Razalli, 2007; Larson, 2002; Shehu & Akintoye, 2008). At all levels of management, organizations need these skills in order to interact and communicate successfully with other people (Razalli, 2007; Ling Jen Ung, 2003). Thus, interpersonal skills are required at all levels of management, in order that team members may be led, motivated and influenced. Included in interpersonal skills are the understanding of behavioural principles, interpersonal relations, motivation and communication (Shehu & Akintoye, 2008). These skills are established by the way the manager perceives and distinguishes the attitudes of his superiors, equals and subordinates, and the way he behaves accordingly. Any manager could use interpersonal skills to influence other people’s behaviour in order to achieve the objectives of projects by the access he/she has to various sources of power and the corresponding methods by which others may be influenced (El-Sabaa, 2001; Razalli, 2007; Ling Jenung, 2003).

Based on the comparative analysis of other studies (Razalli 2007; Hassan et al., 2004; Mulya

et al., 2004) researchers found that the importance of different skills is perceived differently by different industrial backgrounds. For example: in the banking, hospital or construction sectors the same skills will be ranked differently due to the different business or work environments in which these companies operate. These skills can be interpreted differently according the business. Take, as an example, technical skills, these are sometimes regarded as part of project management skills; however in the construction industry technical skills refer to the ability to understand basic production processes in construction and drawing. In general, it is often said by researchers (Razalli, 2007; Hassan, 2008) that interpersonal skills are perceived as the most valuable skills, not only in construction, but in all management disciplines. Interpersonal skills are most important for management. Observation of othersstudies (Egbu, 1994; Odusami et al., 2007) shows that interpersonal skills, i.e. communication and technical skills are the most valued skills for all levels of construction personnel involved in managing construction work. In relation to the current study, in addition to these skills, project management would be also ranked as one of the most important skills by Iraqi construction engineers, because there is a noticeable of lack of training institutions in Iraq that could provide these skills for the construction industry. The term skill, viewed subjectively, when applied to employees in developed countries (Teixeira, 2006; Teixeira et al., 2006) connotes knowledge and/or possessing certain abilities. Both of these qualities are more or less acquired by people through education, training and/or experience at work. However, when viewed objectively skills may also refer to the

requirements of a job, in which case it is best viewed as a property of the task rather than a virtue of an individual. Within an occupation, of some sort or another, skills often denote prestige and/or social status, which may loosely be associated with the practitioners’ abilities and/or tasks they perform; perhaps there is a correlation. This latter quality, when judged systematically, manifests itself through a dimension of time, and through the application of ones’ expertise, being evident as a practice (Teixeira, 2006; Teixeira et al., 2006), in this context, is a value related to the maturity and/or the manifestation of skills. Therefore, one could say that the instance of the application of one’s own abilities or qualities is the bases upon which an expert could show off the skills he/she has. The previous argument may hold in stable developed societies, but not in a society of different qualities. For example, in certain situations, such as prolonged wars, the presupposed basis of the previous argument doesn’t hold sway. The skills base could suffer, due to the impact of war on society, for example, through annihilation or migration and the ensuing drain on expertise. This scenario is very evident in today’s Iraq. To list, in an un-conclusive manner, the reasons for this statement one could cite the following wars: the war with Iran from 1980-1988; the 1990- 1991 war with Kuwait; the subsequent war its allies, in what is called the first gulf war and the last war brought by America and its allies to topple the regime. These wars have had a big impact on society as a whole: the economic sanctions that followed the second war; the brain and skills drain due to refugees, and the sub-standard training, re-training and education that have tarnished Iraqi life and become a feature of these events.

Being a subjective issue, an inherent social factor comes to bear when one compares different skill requirements and abilities. Different societies have different standards as to what they call expertise, this could be tied–up, for example, and with how advanced a society is, an electrician in Japan would have different skill requirements to that of one in a society that doesn’t have electricity in the first place. Another presupposition is that of culture. Culture plays a stronger role in family-based or tribal societies (Al-Faleh, 1990; Atiyyah, 1993).A culture where the role of family, or clan, is supreme may put less stringent constraints on a